If you’ve seen the headlines this morning debating whether menopause is a disease and being over-medicalised, this video explains my thoughts. Menopause is more than a collection of symptoms; it is a cardiometabolic and inflammatory condition which leads to an increased risk of numerous diseases. Menopause has been ‘medicalised’ for years – including with antidepressants, antipsychotics, painkillers, sleeping tablets, anticholinergics to treat bladder symptoms, and heart medications to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and control palpitations. The first-line treatment for menopausal symptoms is body-identical HRT. Studies have shown that when women are given the right dose and type of hormones, their symptoms improve, and they have a lower future risk of numerous long-term inflammatory diseases associated with menopause including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, dementia, and depression as well as early death. Talking about menopause as being a ‘natural transition’ or part of ‘healthy ageing’ ignores the very real suffering of many women with menopausal symptoms.